


The Lawrence Love Bug

by JillMarie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Disney, F/M, Movie Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-15 05:00:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3434495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JillMarie/pseuds/JillMarie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disney's The Love Bug.  Mary Campbell buys Herbie and John becomes a race car driver. Written for the super_disney com on LiveJournal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lawrence Love Bug

Mary takes another walk around the car. It's exactly what she wants: small and cheap. Sure, the Volkswagen beetle has seen better days, but, well, it's so cute. She can hear her father say “Cute's not a reason to buy a car, Mary.” And he'll probably list a dozen more reasons the purchase is a bad decision, but Mary can’t help herself, she loves the little car.

She smiles at her boyfriend over the roof of the little VW and asks, “Well, what do you think? Is it my new car?”

John Winchester walks around it shaking his head then wipes a finger through the grime on the roof. “Don't think you can call it 'new'.”

“You’re the best mechanic in town. I know you’ll make sure this baby always run perfectly.” She pats the car and kisses John's cheek making him roll his eyes. He can't criticize the little car if she's going to do that.

Sighing dramatically, John says, “Let's take a look under the hood and see what we're working with.”

To his surprise, John's impressed with how well maintained it is. The car will need an oil change, new air filter, and new spark plugs, but someone obviously took very good care of this little car.

John shuts the hood and nods in approval. Mary smiles brighter than the sun and practically skips to hand the seller three hundred dollars. Then she and John drive off in the little white bug.

* * *

  


Samuel Campbell is completely disappointed in Mary’s choice for a car. “Mary, it’s tiny. A strong breeze will blow that thing over, what were you thinking?” Without waiting for her answer he adds, “And it’s foreign. Do you know how difficult it will be to get parts if something needs replacing?” An idea suddenly comes to him and he glares at John. “I suppose buying this heap was your idea.”

“No, sir,” John begins but Mary cuts him off.

“The car runs perfectly, Daddy. Besides, it was my money, it was affordable and I like it.” Mary puts her hands on her hips, ending the conversation.

Samuel makes a disgusted noise and waves a hand in dismissal at them before marching back into the house.

As he passes, Deanna Campbell rolls her eyes. Then she cocks her head to the side and studies the little car. Shrugging, she says, “I think it’s a cute little car.” She turns to John. “You can keep it running, can’t you?”

“Yes ma’am. The car’s in decent shape already.”

Deanna gives a final nod of approval. “Well Mary, why don’t the two of you wash and wax it and I’ll fix you both some lemonade.”

  


As John helps Mary wash and wax the bug, he can't help chuckling at the racing stripes. _Who in the world would have tried racing a VW bug?_

Mary crosses her arms over her chest and scowls indignantly. “What is so funny?”

“Someone racing this thing.” He pauses at her angry look, but forges on. “Mary, the little guy is cute, but a race car? Come on. I think the racing stripes and number are a little much.”

Mary pouts. She never stopped to consider the stripes or that they meant the car raced, but that doesn't mean John should tease Herbie. _Herbie? Where did that come from?_

“Leave Herbie alone. I bet he could win the Lawrence stocks if he wanted,” she says patting Herbie's roof.

John does a double take. “Herbie? You named the car Herbie?”

“What's wrong with Herbie?”

“Nothing. Herbie's a fine name for a car. Just don't know if I want you naming my kids...”

She slugs John on the arm, but her giggle means she's not angry. John jogs a few steps to get away but Mary catches him and wraps her arms around him.

“You know,” he says planting a kiss on her temple. “You would look pretty foxy in a driver's suit.”

Her brows shoot to her hairline. “You really think I'm going to drive in the stocks? I was kidding! Can't you just picture my dad's reaction to me racing? He’d freak out.”

John smirks. “Yeah, he would. So you probably shouldn't tell him.” He opens the hood and examines the engine again, mentally listing improvements he could make.

“You’re not serious. Didn’t you say that it was a joke that someone raced this car?”

John nods and can’t really explain how he got the idea, but something tells him the little bug would be a terrific little race car. “The purse is enough to cover the entry cost **and** what you paid for him.” He sees Mary perk up at the idea so he continues. “Second place leaves us short the entry fee but still covers what Herbie cost you.” He takes a moment and lets the idea sink in. When he sees her beginning to smile he says, “What do you say Mary? Wanna be a race car driver?”

Mary’s smile grows brighter and she claps her hands. “This is going to be so cool!”

  


* * *

  


Every time he watches his daughter drive off in her little VW bug, Sam Campbell scowls. He’s sure that Winchester boy talked her into buying it so he could keep busy at the garage. Each time he walks by her car, he mutters “hunk of junk” under his breath.

Herbie doesn’t like Sam Campbell too much. The man is self righteous and is always demeaning Mary in some way. So, Herbie makes sure to leave oil stains on his driveway. When John checks, with Samuel looking over his shoulder, Herbie has no leaks and is never low on oil.

  


* * *

The stock car races are a summer tradition in Lawrence, Kansas with the first one falling on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. John signs up to race in the open under Winchester Racing. He figures that way Mary's name won't be listed and her father won't find out. It's mostly a joke, but he thinks a good showing would help his reputation as a mechanic.

  


John takes Mary out to the old highway 40 and tells her to “open her up”. With a wild grin Mary stomps on the gas, but Herbie doesn't move. The engine revs and then sputters and dies. “What the hell?!” John growls and opens the door to check under the hood.

As he's checking the engine, Mary pets Herbie's dash. “Come on Herbie, you were running great a minute a go. What's wrong boy?”

Herbie's engine turns over, eager to move. Mary has to pull the emergency brake to stop him from taking off. She shouts to John out the window, “Whatever you did, it seemed to have worked!”

John slams the hood and joins Mary. “I didn't do anything.”

Mary releases the brake and they fly down the road. “Maybe he didn't like you calling him a girl.”

John cranes his neck to check her speed. They're already doing sixty. “I'll call him whatever you want if you can keep driving like this.”

Mary's eyes twinkle with joy as they speed down the road.

“Don't brake. Down shift into the curve,” John tells her, but Mary can't help it. Not braking seems insane so she lightly touches the brake as she moves to downshift. Herbie doesn't respond to the brake, but he does change gears. “That's the way, Mary! That was perfect.”

Mary smiles but her nerves are rattled by taking the corner at that speed and she pulls onto the road that leads to the lake.

“Mary, why are we stopping? Don't you want to keep practicing?” John asks.

She parks Herbie in the shade under a large tree. “I was thinking maybe you should drive him in the race.”

“Why? You're doing so well Mary, and he's your car, you should be the driver.”

Mary shakes her head. “What about my dad? He will totally trip if he finds out I'm racing Herbie.”

John gives her an incredulous look. “Like he's going to be any better if I race your car.”

She shrugs. “If I damage the car, well, it's my car,” she shrugs. “but if I get damaged and he thinks it was your fault? He'll make you wish you were back in Vietnam.”

John chuckles but nods in agreement. “Alright, but do you think Herbie will let me drive?” He teases and rubs a hand over Herbie's dash.

She smiles at him. “I think Herbie just wants to win and there's a much better chance of that if you're driving than if I am.”

She engages the emergency brake and climbs into John’s lap, making him laugh. “Mary, I’m not one to stop a girl when she’s making advances, as long as that girl is you,” he quickly amends, “but there’s no room in this car.”

The moon roof slides open and the seat smoothly moves back and Mary quirks a brow at her boyfriend. “Seems like we have plenty of room.”

John’s surprised to agree; not that he would argue with Mary when she’s kissing him like that.

There’s a soft breeze, the sun is setting, and red-winged blackbirds are singing in the nearby trees. The world feels perfect to the couple cuddling in the car. Though he wouldn’t dream of taking things much further than kissing, John thinks he’ll call the little car the Love Bug – only not out loud.

  


John gets Mary a set of coveralls so she can be his crew chief and decides she looks just as cute in those as he thought she'd look in the driver suit. Mary chews her lip nervously. “I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do.”

John's checking Herbie's oil and cooling levels. He peeks around the open hood and smiles at her. “All you have to do is wish us luck. Herbie and I will do the rest.” He closes the hood and kisses her cheek.

Mary hands him his driver's helmet and groans. “I'm so nervous I might get sick.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” John reminds her. “We're only risking the entry fee. I can make up the fifty dollars next week.”

Before Mary can say anything else, the track announcer calls all drivers to the starting line. Mary is left to watch and hope.

  


John's heard of athletes saying they were 'in the zone' but he didn't know what they meant until he and Herbie were racing. Driving seems effortless. He simply thinks something and Herbie does it; almost as if the car was driving itself.

By the time they were on the final lap, they only have two more cars to pass. John sees that the car in second is moving to the outside in order to pass the car currently in the lead and that car is moving to block. “Well Herbie, it's time to move inside and show 'em how it's done.”

Mary covers her eyes when John makes his move, but peeks through her fingers to find Herbie well in the lead when the checkered flag flies.

  


After collecting the prize money, John gives Mary the money she paid for Herbie. He takes the fifty dollar entry fee and applies it to the entry for the next week's race. The rest of the money he uses to take Mary out to dinner and he buys Herbie Turtle Wax, Armour All, and a case of Pennzoil.

  


Every Sunday for the rest of that summer would find Mary, John and Herbie at the race track.

  


But Herbie is still Mary’s car. She drives him when her dad insists she joins him on hunts. Herbie learns all about ghosts and witches and becomes more careful around Samuel Campbell. Herbie’s not evil, but he’s well aware that Mary's dad is looking for a reason to get rid of him.

* * *

By fall, John and Herbie have won enough money for John to buy a car for himself. Mary keeps pointing out the VW bus at Rainbow Motors; she thinks it'll make Herbie happy to have another VW in the family. John knows the real reason is that Mary wants to get married and have kids and the bus will give them enough room to haul the little rug-rats around.

John’s not sure he’s ready for that.

  


He stops by Rainbow Motors over his lunch anyway, simply to check on the price of the bus. However, he finds himself drawn into a conversation with the young man he met earlier that day at the diner. Dean VanHalen tells him about the virtues of the ‘67 Impala that’s parked right next to the bus. John thinks the guy must be right because something about the car calls to him.

It’s an easy decision and John hopes Mary won’t be too disappointed. The back seat’s plenty big enough for a couple of kids. And if Herbie’s upset – John shakes his head at the idea. A car doesn’t actually have feelings he reminds himself.

  


Herbie is definitely not disappointed when the Impala arrives at Mary’s door. She is the sexiest car he’s ever laid high beams on. He has been against the bus since Mary first brought it up. Who wants a farty old uncle when you could have this sleek black beauty around? For Herbie, it’s love at first sight.

* * *

  


Herbie's heart breaks on November 2, 1983 and he never runs properly again. He wishes the fire had spread to the garage. He understands when John decides to sell him; the man has to provide for his family. Herbie asks the Impala to look after Mary's family for him, and she promises to do so until her engine runs dry.

  


It's years later and Dean and Sam return to Lawrence to help the family that has moved into their old home. The mom, while exploring the basement, found some pictures of the Winchester family. As Dean flips through them, he finds one of his mother and her 'race car' and it makes him smile. He has only the slightest memory of the little VW and the stories his mother told him of it. But, he tucks the picture into the Impala's visor so he can see his mother's smile whenever he needs it.

  


  



End file.
